Fireflies. They cover the two mango trees in front of the house. Sometimes a few would make it inside the bedroom and i would watch them as i lay on the woven mat inside the confines of the mosquito netting. My Mamalola (grandma) would then tell me tales of how the fairies love those fireflies. There is something comforting in seeing them in the middle of night when everyone is fast asleep and snoring. Many a night i have dreamt childish dreams of princes and princesses while watching a firefly.
Dragonflies. Lots of them with really beautiful iridescent wings. Some more green, others more blue. And there was this HUGE one with orange on its wings. They were everywhere! Everytime we go to Libwangan to wash clothes on the weekends (there was no running water in Lingion for the longest time) i always look forward to the dragonflies. It was that time when the water still runs clear. It was a huge party for us kids then :-) bathing in the shallows, eating lunch, drying the clothes on the rocks so they won't be too heavy to carry back up the really steep climb. I remember we have our dirty clothes in rice sacks and we'd roll in down to the river bank before we make our way down. I was always scared going down but the thought of dragonflies kept me going!
There was no electricity in Lingion. We used Petromax or a plain kuatro-kantos (bottle of gin) filled with gas and a makeshift wick from an old shirt. But the nights were beautiful! I remember the stars were soo bright! My Lolo (grandpa) would wake up like 330 or 4 am and he'd have hi s transistor radio on. The Star- Spangled Banner then the Philippine National Anthem signals the beginning of the day. There will be songs requested in mail and dedicated to certain individuals, mostly from admirers. And the smell of ground coffee being boiled in my Mamalola's water kettle was just heavenly! The coffee came from my lolo's own trees. I helped harvest, pound, dry and ground them. Sometimes i can harvest enough for myself to sell :-) It was a very simple life. Now that i think about it, a lot of people would want to do that! I realize how blessed i was with a wonderful childhood. In the quiet of Lingion. Where the roads were unpaved.
2 comments:
Fireflies are magical! I grew up with them in Missouri. We would catch them and ...mmm....make thee lights light up and then use them foe rings or mark our faces so they glowed in the dark. When we would drive to activities in town at dusk they fiied the fields by the thousands and it looked like you were driving at light speed. Beautiful!
Thanks for the comment, Laurene! It's a shame i don't see them much anymore. Is Missouri close to the south?
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